Living in the Midwest, I see the best of all four seasons. While I love being outdoors with my family, I also want to be able to enjoy the same activities on cool, rainy April days and during humid, sunny August afternoons. Talking with my neighbor who had a patio awning, I knew an awning was the solution to my seasonal situation.

After contacting a local member of the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA), I customized, installed and now enjoy a number of the benefits the awning provides for my family, our home and our wallets. From creating a stylistic identify for our home to saving on energy cooling costs, this simple home addition has allowed our family to spend more time and fully utilize our backyard.

You can use the links on the right to read my story, learn more about the benefits of awnings and find images. And if you would like to get in touch with other homeowners who are telling their awnings story, please contact Melissa Neill with PAMA at 651.286.6736 or mneill@risdall.com.

ANNOUNCING – Awnings Today has recently produced a video illustrating the benefits of awnings. The video footage features a variety of awning sizes and styles on middle-class residential homes, along with shots of John Carmody, director of the Center for Sustainable Building Research at the University of Minnesota, discussing the energy study that proves awnings are a viable means to reduce the energy needed to cool a home.

Download footage: Awnings B-Roll (.wmv file/8.76m)